If you are a fan of Melodic, Progressive and/or Symphonic Metal then I strongly recommend you check out Talesien.
The opening instrumental to this album, 'Noa', gives a couple of good hints of what this band are all about. The Spanish guitar flows into an orchestration piece of cinematic proportion that could easily fit over the opening titles of a major motion picture.
The band in question is Talesien and they clearly have a big sound. This six-piece hails from Spain and were formed in 2002 out of the ashes of the group called Kraken. Although they appear to have some obvious influences – which include Metallica, Iron Maiden, Dream Theater, Kamelot and Symphony X – they now seem to have settled into their own sound on this, their fourth album.
Once the opening intro is over, 'Lazarus' kicks off the album proper and is everything you would expect from the above influences. This track is all double kick drums, twin guitars and lavish keyboards with a bit of the old Hammond Organ thrown in for good measure. Without doubt, this is Melodic Symphonic/Progressive Metal or maybe should we say "Melodico Sinfonico/Progresivo Metal".
For me, the highlight of this album has to be 'Sexta Extincion'. It clocks in at six and a half minutes and starts off very similar to Journey's 'Eclipse' which then leads on to a catchy chorus and an exquisite guitar solo. I would think that this song will be great live and surely it is going to be at the heart of their future live shows. Another favourite was the album closer 'Sublime' which is a piano-led ballad that is clearly aptly titled.
This self-titled release features eleven tracks in total, all of which are sung in the band's native Spanish by vocalist P. Javier Garcia. This may possibly dissuade some people but the high quality of the musicianship will hopefully be an attraction and compensate for that with some listeners. If you are a fan of Melodic, Progressive and/or Symphonic Metal then I strongly recommend you check out Talesien and their self-titled new album, I don't think you will be disappointed; feliz escucar.
Cat O'Brien